Hybrid artichoke variety nun 4060 ar

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a new and distinct hybrid variety of globe artichoke NUN 4060 AR. The new variety is to of the Camus type having large flat, pale green heads, and is relatively early maturing and produces heads suitable for both the fresh market and/or the processing industry.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of plant breeding. Inparticular, a new and distinct hybrid variety of Globe artichoke isprovided, designated NUN 4060 AR. The new variety is of the Camus DeBretagne type, having large flat , pale green heads, NUN 4060 AR, whichis relatively early maturing and produces heads suitable for both thefresh market and/or the processing industry. The plants of NUN 4060 ARare most similar to the commercial variety Madrigal F1, which is aprocessing variety sold by Nunhems B.V. However, NUN 4006 AR differsfrom Madrigal F1 in a number of characteristics and can easily bedistinguished from Madrigal when grown under the same environmentalconditions. The plants grown from NUN 4060 AR seeds are tall plants, buton average slightly smaller than the very tall Madrigal plants. Also thenumber of days plants of NUN 4060 AR are in the harvest period issignificantly less than those of Madrigal. The leaves of both varietiesare similar (long leaves with incisions, slightly erect, withoutspines), but the leaves of NUN 4060 AR are on average shorter than thoseof Madrigal and the leaf color is gray-green, while that of Madrigal isdark green. Provided are seeds of NUN 4060 AR, plants and plant partsproduced from these seeds (such as heads, hearts, bottoms, etc.),vegetative reproductions of the variety NUN 4006 AR, and progeny of thevariety.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides for a new hybrid variety of Globe artichokecalled NUN 4060 AR. The invention also provides for a plurality of seedsof the new variety, plants produced from growing the seeds and plantparts obtainable from the grown plant, such as (harvested) flower heads,or parts of the flower heads (e.g. hearts, bottoms, etc).

Thus, in one aspect, the invention provides seeds of artichoke varietydesignated NUN 4060 AR, wherein a representative sample of seeds of saidvariety was deposited under the Budapest Treaty, with Accession numberNCIMB ______.

In another aspect, the invention provides for an artichoke plant ofartichoke variety NUN 4060 AR, a representative sample of seed from saidvariety has been deposited under the Budapest Treaty, with Accessionnumber NCIMB ______.

In other aspects, the invention provides for plant parts, such aspollen, flower heads, hearts, bottoms, bracts, shoots, cuttings,receptacles of variety NUN 4060 AR or parts thereof.

In other aspects, the invention provides for progeny of variety NUN 4060AR such as progeny obtained by selfing NUN 4060 AR one or more timesand/or cross-pollinating NUN 4060 AR with another Globe artichoke plantor variety one or more times. In particular, the invention provides forprogeny that retain all the morphological and physiologicalcharacteristics of NUN 4060 AR when grown under the same environmentalconditions. In another aspect, the invention provides for vegetativereproductions of the variety are provided and essentially derivedvarieties (EDVs) of NUN 4060 AR.

DEFINITIONS

“Artichoke” or “Globe artichoke” refers herein to plants of the speciesCynara scolymus L. (synonym Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus L.).

“Flower head” or “head” refers to immature flower heads (also called“flower buds” or “capitulates”), harvested or on the plant. The “centralflower head” refers to the terminal flower head produced on the central,main stem. Other flower heads are produced on lateral branches.

“Heart” is the edible part of the flower head comprising or consistingof the fleshy receptacle (or a part thereof) with the fleshy base of theinner bracts (or parts thereof). “Artichoke bottom” is the edible fleshylower part of the heart.

“UPOV descriptors” are the plant variety descriptors described for GlobeArtichoke in the “Guidelines for the Conduct of Tests for Distinctness,Uniformity and Stability, TG/184/3 (Geneva 2001), as published by UPOV(International Union for the Protection of New Varieties and Plants,available on the world wide web at upov.int) and which can be downloadedfrom the world wide web at upov.int/en/publications/tg_rom/tg_index.htmland is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

As used herein, the term “plant” includes the whole plant or any partsor derivatives thereof, preferably having the same genetic makeup as theplant from which it is obtained, such as plant organs (e.g. harvested ornon-harvested heads, hearts, receptacles), plant cells, plantprotoplasts, plant cell tissue cultures from which whole plants can beregenerated, plant calli, plant cell clumps, plant transplants,seedlings, plant cells that are intact in plants, plant clones ormicropropagations, or parts of plants (e.g. harvested tissues ororgans), such as plant cuttings, vegetative propagations, embryos,pollen, ovules, fruits, flowers, leaves, seeds, clonally propagatedplants, roots, stems, root tips, grafts, parts of any of these and thelike. Also any developmental stage is included, such as seedlings,cuttings prior or after rooting, mature plants or leaves.

“Harvested plant material” refers herein to plant parts (e.g. headsdetached from the whole plant or hearts removed from the heads) whichhave been collected for further storage and/or further use.

“Harvested seeds” refers to seeds harvested from a line or variety, e.g.produced after self-fertilization or cross-fertilization and collected.

As used herein, the term “variety” or “cultivar” means a plant groupingwithin a single botanical taxon of the lowest known rank, whichgrouping, irrespective of whether the conditions for the grant of abreeder's right are fully met, can be defined by the expression of thecharacteristics resulting from a given genotype or combination ofgenotypes, distinguished from any other plant grouping by the expressionof at least one of the said characteristics and considered as a unitwith regard to its suitability for being propagated unchanged.

A variety is referred to as an “Essentially Derived Variety” (EDV) is avariety (i.e., shall be deemed to be essentially derived from anothervariety, “the initial variety”) when (i) it is predominantly derivedfrom the initial variety, or from a variety that is itself predominantlyderived from the initial variety, while retaining the expression of theessential characteristics that result from the genotype or combinationof genotypes of the initial variety; (ii) it is clearly distinguishablefrom the initial variety; and (iii) except for the differences whichresult from the act of derivation, it conforms to the initial variety inthe expression of the essential characteristics that result from thegenotype or combination of genotypes of the initial variety. Thus, anEDV may be obtained for example by the selection of a natural or inducedmutant, or of a somaclonal variant, the selection of a variantindividual from plants of the initial variety, backcrossing, ortransformation by genetic engineering.

“Plant line” is for example a breeding line which can be used to developone or more varieties.

“Hybrid variety” or “F1 hybrid” refers to the seeds harvested fromcrossing two inbred parental lines. For example, the female parent ispollinated with pollen of the male parent to produce hybrid (F1) seedson the female parent.

“Average” refers herein to the arithmetic mean.

Locus (plural loci) refers to the specific location of a gene or DNAsequence on a chromosome. A locus may confer a specific trait.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Globe artichoke is a vegetable crop originating from the Mediterraneanregion. The immature flower heads (also called “globes”) contain edibleparts, the fleshy bracts and hearts, which can be harvested for thefresh market or for industrial purposes (e.g. the canning industry).Certain extracts are also used in the pharmaceutical field.

Artichoke is predominantly cross-pollinating (due to the stigmaticsurfaces maturing several days after pollen shedding) and selfing canresult in some inbreeding depression. Artichoke cultivars havetraditionally been bred as clones, using vegetative propagation(planting of basal stumps or suckers), because seed populations were notuniform enough for cultivation. In recent years seed propagated hybridcultivars have been developed which do have good uniformity, such asMadrigal F1, Concerto F1 and others. These hybrids are produced fromtrue breeding inbred parental lines.

The shift to seed-planted varieties (rather than vegetative cultivation)has enabled artichoke to be grown as an annual crop, althoughseed-planted varieties can also be grown as perennials. Seed-plantedvarieties are cost and labor saving, because seeds are sownmechanically. Also yields and quality are much higher, probably to someextent due to the fact that direct-seeded plants produce long taproots,which penetrate deeper into the soil than the vegetative plantations.Hybrid vigor also plays a role in improved yields, as does the betterpest and disease control of annually seeded crops. Although a number of(seed-planted) hybrid varieties exist, there is still a need for new,high yielding, uniform hybrids with good head quality.

A number of characteristics are important to artichoke breedersincluding (a) the time of harvest (varieties adapted to early or lateharvest); (b) the size and quality of the heads (determining whether theheads are suitable for fresh and/or industry purposes); (c) the shape ofthe heads; (d) the size of the plant; and (e) the spinelessness of thebracts.

The present invention provides a new artichoke of the Camus type havinglarge flat, pale green heads, NUN 4060 AR, which is relatively earlymaturing and produces heads suitable for both the fresh market and/orthe processing industry. The plants of NUN 4060 AR are most similar tothe commercial variety Madrigal Fl, which is a processing variety soldby Nunhems B.V. However, NUN 4060 AR differs from Madrigal F1 in anumber of characteristics and can easily be distinguished from Madrigalwhen grown under the same environmental conditions, see Table 1.Firstly, the plants grown from NUN 4060 AR seeds are tall plants(measured from the soil to the top of the central flower head), but onaverage slightly smaller than the very tall Madrigal plants. Also thenumber of days plants of NUN 4060 AR are in the harvest period issignificantly lower, at least about 30, 35, 40, 45, preferably at least50, 54, 58, 60 or 62 days less than that of Madrigal. The leaves of bothvarieties are similar (long leaves with incisions, slightly erect,without spines), but the leaves of NUN 4060 AR are on average shorterthan those of Madrigal and the leaf color is gray-green, while those ofMadrigal dark green.

In addition, the primary head shape of NUN 4060 AR is oblate, while thatof Madrigal is ovoid. The weight of the primary head of NUN 4060 AR issignificantly higher than that of Madrigal while the average weight ofthe secondary flower head is slightly lower. The primary head length ofNUN 4060 AR is somewhat shorter than that of Madrigal.

As discussed herein, one of the main differences between NUN 4060 AR andMadrigal Fl is the number of days in the harvest period, which isrelatively short in NUN 4060 F1 compared to Madrigal when grown underthe same environmental conditions.

The outer bracts of the flower heads are mainly light green with nosecondary color, while in Madrigal the external bract main color is midgreen with a brown tint as secondary color on the tip. The internalbract color of NUN 4060 AR is whitish-green, while that of Madrigal F1is yellow-green.

The morphological and/or physiological differences between NUN 4060 ARand other known varieties can easily be established by growing NUN 4060AR next to the other varieties (in the same field, under the sameenvironmental conditions), preferably in several locations which aresuitable for artichoke cultivation, and measuring morphological and/orphysiological characteristics of a number of plants (e.g., to calculatean average value and to determine the variation range/uniformity withinthe variety).

For example, trials can be carried out in California, USA, whereby e.g.,plant height, width, growth habit, side shoot number, foliage density,head size, head shape, head number, head texture, head fragrance, headweight, bract size, bract shape, bract texture, bract number, bractcolor, bract basal thickness, heart shape and size, heart color, papuslength and color, head firmness, bract firmness, head gloss, leaf lengthand width, leaf incisions (serrations), leaf basal angle, leaf length towidth ratio, leaf color, leaf texture, leaf venation, leaf basalthickness, distance between incisions, petiole length and width, pestand/or disease resistance/susceptibility can be measured and directlycompared. Also post-harvest characteristics of heads can be compared,such as cold storage holding quality (browning), post-harvest oxidationof heads, and juiciness can be measured using known methods (see e.g.,US 2009/0044299, paragraph 0016). The morphological and/or physiologicalcharacteristics may vary with variation in the environment (such astemperature, light intensity, day length, humidity, soil, fertilizeruse), which is why a comparison under the same environmental conditionsis preferred. Colors can best be measured against The Munsell Book ofColor (Munsell Color Macbeth Division of Kollmorgan InstrumentsCorporation) or using the Royal Horticultural Society Chart(http://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/RHS-Publications/RHS-colour-charts).

Seeds of artichoke variety NUN 4060 AR are provided herein, wherein arepresentative sample of said seeds (2500 seeds) has been deposited,under the Budapest Treaty, with Accession Number NCIMB ______.

Seeds of NUN 4060 AR are obtainable by crossing the male parent with thefemale parent and harvesting the seeds produced on the female parent.The resultant NUN 4060 AR seeds can be grown to produce NUN 4060 ARplants. In one embodiment a plurality of NUN 4060 AR seeds are packagedinto small and/or large containers (e.g., bags, cartons, cans, etc.).The seeds may be treated with various compounds, such as seed coatings.

Also provided are plants of artichoke variety NUN 4060 AR, or a partthereof, produced from seeds, wherein a representative sample of saidseeds has been deposited under the Budapest Treaty, with AccessionNumber NCIMB ______. Plants of NUN 4060 AR can be produced by seedingdirectly in the ground (e.g., field) or by germinating the seeds incontrolled environment conditions (e.g., greenhouses) and thentransplanting the seedlings into the field. (See Smith et al.,University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resourcespublication 7221, “Artichoke production in California,” and the worldwide web at anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu for cultivation, harvesting, handlingand postharvest methods commonly used).

Parts of NUN 4060 AR encompass any cells, tissues, organs obtainablefrom the seedlings or plants, such as but not limited to: heads or partsthereof, hearts, bottoms, bracts, cuttings, pollen and the like. Suchparts can be stored and/or processed further. Encompassed are thereforealso food or feed products comprising one or more of such parts, such ascanned hearts or bottoms obtainable from NUN 4060 AR or from progenythereof, or from a derived variety, such as an EDV.

In a preferred embodiment, the invention provides for heads of artichokevariety NUN 4060 AR, or a part of the head. The heads are preferablyharvest-stage heads. They may be harvested (e.g., manually, by removingthe heads from the remaining plant) and stored and/or processed further.In another embodiment, the invention provides for a container comprisingor consisting of a plurality of harvested heads of NUN 4060 AR, orprogeny thereof, or a derived variety, such as an EDV.

In yet a further embodiment, the invention provides for a method ofproducing a new artichoke plant. The method comprises crossing NUN 4060AR, either as male or as female parent, with a second artichoke plant(or a wild relative of artichoke) one or more times, and/or selfing NUN4060 AR one or more times, and selecting progeny from said crossingand/or selfing. Progeny are either the generation (seeds) produced fromthe first cross (F1) or selfing (S1), or any further generation producedby crossing and/or selfing (F2, F3, etc.) and/or backcrossing (BC1, BC2,etc.) one or more selected plants of the F1 and/or S1 and/or BC1generation (or plants of any further generation, e.g. the F2) withanother artichoke plant (and/or with a wild relative of artichoke).Using common breeding methods such as backcrossing or recurrentselection, one or more specific characteristics may be introduced intoNUN 4060 AR, to provide an EDV of NUN 4060 AR.

A “wild” relative of artichoke is herein selected from Cynaracardunculus var. sylvestris (wild cardoon), Cynara cardunculus subspcardunculus (cultivated cardoon), C. baetica, C. algarbiensis, C.syriaca, C. cornigera, C. cyrenaica, C. humilis and C. trournefortii.

The invention provides for methods of producing varieties which retainall the morphological and physiological characteristics of NUN 4060 AR,or EDVs (Essentially Derived Varieties), which may differ from NUN 4060AR in one, two, three or more morphological and/or physiologicalcharacteristics, but which are still genetically closely related to NUN4060 AR. The relatedness can, for example be determined byfingerprinting techniques (e.g., making use of isozyme markers and/ormolecular markers such as SNP markers, AFLP markers, microsatellites,minisatellites, RAPD markers, RFLP markers and others). An plant is“closely related” to NUN 4060 AR if its DNA fingerprint is at least 80%,90%, 95% or 98% identical to the fingerprint of NUN 4060 AR. In apreferred embodiment AFLP markers are used for DNA fingerprinting (Voset al. 1995, Nucleic Acid Research 23: 4407-4414). A closely relatedplant may have a Jaccard's Similarity index of at least about 0.8,preferably at least about 0.9, 0.95, 0.98 or more (Pisanu et al. ISHS2004, Acta Hort. 660).

The invention further provides a method of introducing a single locusconversion into NUN 4060 AR comprising (a) crossing a plant of varietyNUN 4060 AR, a representative sample of seed of said variety having beendeposited under Accession Number NCIMB ______, with a second plantcomprising a desired single locus to produce F1 progeny plants; (b)selecting F1 progeny plants that have the single locus to produceselected F1 progeny plants; (c) crossing the selected progeny plantswith at least a first plant of NUN 4060 AR to produce backcross progenyplants; (d) selecting backcross progeny plants that have the singlelocus and physiological and morphological characteristics of NUN 4060 ARto produce selected backcross progeny plants; and (e) repeating steps(c) and (d) one or more times in succession to produce selected secondor higher backcross progeny plants that comprise the single locus andotherwise comprise all of the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of NUN 4060 AR when grown in the same environmentalconditions.

By crossing and/or selfing also (one or more) single traits may beintroduced into NUN 4060 AR (e.g., using backcrossing breeding schemes),while retaining the remaining morphological and physiologicalcharacteristics of NUN 4060 AR. For example, disease resistance genesmay be introduced, genes responsible for one or more quality traits(such as head quality), yield, etc. Both single genes (dominant orrecessive) and one or more QTLs (quantitative trait loci) may betransferred into NUN 4060 AR by breeding with NUN 4060 AR.

Any pest or disease resistance genes may be introduced into NUN 4060 AR,progeny thereof or into an EDV of NUN 4060 AR. Resistance to one or moreof the following diseases is preferably introduced into plants of theinvention: Powdery mildew, Verticillium wilt (V. dahliae), Botrytis rot,Curly Dwarf Virus and Bacterial Crown rot. Resistance to one or more ofthe following pests is preferably present or introduced into plants ofthe invention: artichoke plume moth (Platyptilia caduidactyla),artichoke moth (Gortyna xantheses), aphid resistance, proba bugresistance, two-spotted spider-mite resistance, Chrysanthemumleaf-miner, and Cribate weevil resistance. Other resistance genes,against pathogenic viruses (e.g. Artichoke Latent Virus, ArLV; artichokemottled crinkle virus, AMCV; Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus, TSWV; Inpatiensnecrotic spot virus, INSV; Cucumber mosaic virus, CMV), fungi, bacteriaor artichoke pests may also be introduced.

Thus, invention also provides a method for developing an artichoke plantin an artichoke breeding program, using an artichoke plant of theinvention, or its parts as a source of plant breeding material. Suitableplant breeding techniques are recurrent selection, backcrossing,pedigree breeding, mass selection, mutation breeding and/or geneticmarker enhanced selection. For example, in one aspect, the methodcomprises crossing NUN 4060 AR or progeny thereof with a differentartichoke plant, and wherein one or more offspring of the crossing aresubject to one or more plant breeding techniques selected from the groupconsisting of recurrent selection, backcrossing, pedigree breeding, massselection, mutation breeding and genetic marker enhanced selection (seee.g. Martin et al. 2008, Australian Journal of Crop Science 1(2):43-46). For breeding methods in general see Principles of Plant Geneticsand Breeding, 2007, George Acquaah, Blackwell Publishing, ISBN-13:978-1-4051-3646-4.

A method of introducing a single locus conversion into NUN 4060 AR isprovided comprising

(a) crossing a plant of variety NUN 4060 AR, a representative sample ofseed of said variety having been deposited under Accession Number NCIMB______, with a second plant comprising a desired single locus to produceF1 progeny plants;

(b) selecting F1 progeny plants that have the single locus to produceselected F1 progeny plants;

(c) crossing the selected progeny plants with at least a first plant ofNUN 4060 AR to produce backcross progeny plants;

(d) selecting backcross progeny plants that have the single locus andphysiological and morphological characteristics of NUN 4060 AR toproduce selected backcross progeny plants; and

(e) repeating steps (c) and (d) one or more times in succession toproduce selected second or higher backcross progeny plants that comprisethe single locus and otherwise comprise all of the physiological andmorphological characteristics of NUN 4060 AR when grown in the sameenvironmental conditions.

The above method is provided, wherein the single locus confers a trait,wherein the trait is pest resistance or disease resistance.

In one embodiment the trait is disease resistance and the resistance isconferred to powdery mildew, Verticillium wilt, Botrytis rot, CurlyDwarf Virus, or Bacterial Crown rot.

In one embodiment the trait is pest resistance and the resistance isconferred to artichoke plume moth, artichoke moth, aphid resistance,proba bug resistance, two-spotted spider-mite resistance, Chrysanthemumleaf-miner, or Cribate weevil.

In one embodiment, NUN 4060 AR may also be mutated (by e.g. irradiation,chemical mutagenesis, heat treatment, etc.) and mutated seeds or plantsmay be selected in order to change one or more characteristics of NUN4060 AR. Also natural mutants may be identified and used in breeding.Methods such as TILLING and/or EcoTILLING may be applied to artichokepopulations in order to identify mutants. Similarly, NUN 4060 AR may betransformed and regenerated, whereby one or more chimeric genes areintroduced into the variety. Transformation can be carried out usingstandard methods, such as Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediatedtransformation or biolistics, followed by selection of the transformedcells and regeneration into plants. A desired trait (e.g. genesconferring pest or disease resistance, herbicide, fungicide orinsecticide tolerance, etc.) can be introduced into NUN 4060 AR, orprogeny thereof, by transforming NUN 4060 AR or progeny thereof with atransgene that confers the desired trait, wherein the transformed plantretains all the morphological and physiological characteristics of NUN4060 AR or the progeny thereof and contains the desired trait.

The invention also provides for progeny of artichoke variety NUN 4060 ARobtained by further breeding with NUN 4060 AR. In one aspect progeny areFl progeny obtained by crossing NUN 4060 AR with another plant or S1progeny obtained by selfing NUN 4060 AR. Also encompassed are F2 progenyobtained by selfing the F1 plants. “Further breeding” encompassestraditional breeding (e.g., selfing, crossing, backcrossing), markerassisted breeding, and/or mutation breeding. In one embodiment, theprogeny have all the physiological and morphological characteristics ofvariety NUN 4060 AR when grown under the same environmental conditions.In another embodiment the progeny are EDVs and/or have one, two, orthree distinct traits (qualitative or quantitative) introduced into NUN4060 AR, while retaining all the other physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of variety NUN 4060 AR when grown under the sameenvironmental conditions.

The variety NUN 4060 AR, or its progeny (e.g. an EDV), can also bereproduced using vegetative reproduction methods. Therefore, theinvention provides for a method of producing plants, or a part thereof,of variety NUN 4060 AR comprising vegetative propagation of variety NUN4060 AR. Vegetative propagation comprises regenerating a whole plantfrom a part of variety NUN 4060 AR, such as a cutting, a cell culture ora tissue culture (e.g., in vitro meristem culture, see Pecaut et al.1985, Revue Horticuole 256: 21-26), a “stump” (basal stem piece withattached root sections or a rooted section of the crown), suckersderived from NUN 4060 AR, shoot or offshoots derived from NUN 4060 AR orovoli derived from NUN 4060 AR (see Ryder et al., 1983, Hort Science 18:646-653).

The invention also provides for a vegetatively propagated plant ofvariety NUN 4060 AR, or a part thereof, having all the morphological andphysiological characteristics of NUN 4060 AR when grown under the sameenvironmental conditions.

In one aspects haploid plants and/or double haploid plants of NUN 4060AR are encompassed herein. Haploid and double haploid (DH) plants canfor example be produced by anther or microspore culture and regenerationinto a whole plant. For DH production chromosome doubling may be inducedusing known methods, such as colchicine treatment or the like.

Also provided are plant parts derived from variety NUN 4060 AR, or froma vegetatively propagated plant of NUN 4060 AR, being selected from thegroup consisting of: harvested flower heads or parts thereof, pollen,cells, leaves or parts thereof, petioles, shoots or parts thereof, stemsor parts thereof, roots or parts thereof, cuttings, stumps, suckers,offshoots, ovoli, receptacles or parts thereof, bracts or parts thereof,flowers, florets, or flower buds.

Globe artichoke leaves represent a natural source of phenolic acids withdicaffeoylquinic acids, such as cynarin (1,3-dicaffeoylquinic acid),along with its biosynthetic precursor chlorogenic acid (5-caffeoylquinicacid) as the most abundant molecules. In various pharmacological testsystems, artichoke leaf extracts have exhibited hepatoprotective,anticarcinogenic, antioxidative, antibacterial, anti-HIV,bile-expelling, and urinative activities as well as the ability toinhibit cholesterol biosynthesis and LDL oxidation. These broadtherapeutic indications probably cannot be ascribed to a single, but toseveral active compounds that together generate additive or synergisticpharmacologic effects; these include mono- and dicaffeoylquinic acids,and flavonoids such as luteolin and its 7-O-glucoside. Artichoke tissuessuch as leaves, external bracts and stems can be used as a source ofinulin and/or phenolics, useful for the production of food additives andnutraceuticals.

In one embodiment, the invention provides for extracts of a plantdescribed herein and compositions comprising or consisting of suchextracts. In a preferred embodiment, the extract consists of orcomprises tissue of a plant described herein or is obtained from suchtissue. For example cynarin may be an extract obtained from leaf tissueand used to make a health-beneficial composition (e.g., a pharmaceuticalcomposition or a food supplement). Likewise inulin (e.g., very longchain inulin, VLCI) may be extracted from globe artichoke tissue, suchas roots and used in food or feed, food supplement, pharmaceutical ornutraceutical compositions. VLCI from Globe artichoke has healthbeneficial properties, e.g., on gut-health, see e.g. WO 2006/108697,WO2007/128559 and Meyer and Stasse-Wolthuis, 2009 (European Journal ofClinical Nutrition 63, 1277-1289.

The invention also provides for a food or feed product comprising orconsisting of a plant part described herein and/or an extract from aplant part described herein. The food or feed product may be fresh orprocessed, e.g., canned, steamed, boiled, fried, blanched and/or frozen,etc.

For example, containers such as cans, boxes, crates, bags, cartons,Modified Atmosphere Packagings, films (e.g. biodegradable films), etc.comprising plant parts of plants (fresh and/or processed) describedherein are also provided herein.

Marketable heads are generally sorted by size and quality after harvest.Cartons may be packaged with “18s” (18 heads, each larger than 4.5inches in diameter), “24s” (25 heads of 4-4.5 inches), “36s” (36 headsof 3.5-4 inches), “48^(th)” (48 heads of 3-3.5 inches) or “60s” (60heads of 2.75-3 inches). The harvested heads of NUN 4060 AR are mostsuitable for packaging with 24s (or 18s or 36s), see Examples regardingbase head diameter of heads.

All documents (e.g., patent publications) are herein incorporated byreference in their entirety.

EXAMPLES Development of NUN 4060 AR

The hybrid NUN 4060 AR was developed from a male and female proprietaryinbred line of Nunhems. The female and male parents were crossed toproduce hybrid (F1) seeds of NUN 4060 AR. The seeds of NUN 4060 AR canbe grown to produce hybrid plants and parts thereof (e.g. flower heads).The hybrid NUN 4060 AR can be propagated by seeds or vegetative.

The hybrid variety is uniform and genetically stable. This has beenestablished through evaluation of horticultural characteristics. Severalhybrid seed production events resulted in no observable deviation ingenetic stability. Coupled with the confirmation of genetic stability ofthe female and male parents the Applicant concluded that NUN 4060 AR isuniform and stable.

A total of 2500 seeds of the hybrid variety NUN 4060 AR were depositedaccording to the Budapest Treaty by Nunhems B.V. on ______, at theAmerican Type Culture Collection (ATCC), 10801 University Boulevard,Manassas, Va. 20110-2209 USA or at the NCIMB Ltd., Ferguson Building,Craibstone Estate, Bucksburn, Aberdeen AB21 9YA, United Kingdom (NCIMB).The deposit has been assigned Accession Number PTA ______ or NCIMB______.

A deposit of NUN 4060 AR and of the male and female parent line is alsomaintained at Nunhems B.V. Access to the deposit will be availableduring the pendency of this application to persons determined by theDirector of the U.S. Patent Office to be entitled thereto upon request.Subject to 37 C.F.R.§1.808(b), all restrictions imposed by the depositoron the availability to the public of the deposited material will beirrevocably removed upon the granting of the patent. The deposit will bemaintained for a period of 30 years, or 5 years after the most recentrequest, or for the enforceable life of the patent whichever is longer,and will be replaced if it ever becomes nonviable during that period.Applicant does not waive any rights granted under this patent on thisapplication or under the Plant Variety Protection Act (7 USC 2321 etseq.).

“USDA descriptors” are plant variety descriptors described for artichokein the “Objective Description of Variety Artichoke (Cyanara scoliymusL.)—Exhibit C” of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, AgriculturalMarketing Service, Science and Technology, Plant Variety ProtectionOffice, Beltsville, Md. 20705, which can be downloaded fromhttp://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/ams.fetchTemplateData.do?template=TemplateJ&page =PVPOForms, and is hereinincorporated by reference in its entirety. Useful publications asreference aids for completing this exhibit C form are Ryder, E. J., N.E. De Vos, and M. A. Bari. 1983 The globe artichoke (Cynara scolymus L.)HortSience 18(5):646-653; Basnitzki, Y. and D. Zohary. 1987 Aseed-planted cultivar of globe artichoke. HortSience 22(4):678-679;Dellacecca, V., V. Magnifico, V. Marzi, E. Porceddu, and G. Mugnozza.1974. Contributo alla conoscenza delle varieta' di cardiofo coltivatenel mondo (Description of artichoke vareities cultivated in the world).Nuovi Studi sul Carciofo. Paper from Second International Congress onArtichoke Studies pp. 199-315; these are incorporated by reference intheir entirety.

The most similar variety to NUN 4060 AR is Madrigal. In Table 1 acomparison between NUN 4060 AR and Madrigal F1 is shown based on a trialin the USA. Trial location: River Rd Chualar, (coordinates: 36° 57′ N.,−121° 54′ W.), USA 2010-2011. Mild weather conditions 13 to 24° C.Planting date: 22 May 2010. Drip irrigation. Two replication of 50plants each, from which 15 plants or plant parts were randomly selectedto measure characteristics. In Table 1 the USDA descriptors of varietyartichoke Cyanara scoliymus are shown for both of NUN 4060 AR (thisapplication) and Madrigal F1 (a seed propagated green hybrid varietysold by Nunhems B. V. for industrial use).

TABLE 1 Objective description of variety Artichoke NUN 4060 AR comparedwith Madrigal F1 USDA Descriptor NUN 4060 AR Madrigal No. of days fromseeding to first head harvest 300 290 No. of days in harvest period 81140 Plant height (harvest stage) (cm) 150.1 164.4 Plant habit (harveststage) 1 1 (1 = upright; 2 = Intermediate; 3 = Broad) No. of axillaryshoots (harvest stage) 5.2 4.8 Leaf (harvest stage) - color 4 3 LeafColor: 1 = Light Green 2 = Medium Green 3 = Dark Green 4 = Gray-GreenLeaf (harvest stage) - spines 1 1 (1 = none; 2 = few; 3 = many) Leaf(harvest stage) - blade length (cm) 117.5 142.6 Leaf (harvest stage) -blade width (cm) 51.4 52.7 Leaf (harvest stage) - shape 3 3 (1 = entire;2 = slight lobed; 3 = deeply lobed) Leaf (harvest stage) - shapevariability 2 2 (1 = slight; 2 = moderate; 3 = high) Primary flower head(harvest stage) - shape 5 3 (1 = cylindrical; 2 = conical; 3 = ovoid; 4= ellipsoid; 5 = oblate) Primary flower head (harvest stage) - basediameter 10.87 10.12 (cm) Primary flower head (harvest stage) - headlength or 8.65 10.06 depth (cm) Primary flower head (harvest stage) -bract tightness 2 3 (1 = Loose; 2 = moderately compact; 3 = compact)Primary flower head (harvest stage) - bract luster 1 1 (1 = dull; 2 =shiny) Primary flower head (harvest stage) - external bract 1 2 maincolor (1 = light green; 2 = mid green; 3 = dark green; 4 = purple; 5 =other) Primary flower head (harvest stage) - external bract 1 3secondary color (1 = none; 2 = purple tint; 3 = brown tint; 4 = greentint; 5 = purple-brown tint; 6 = other) Primary flower head (harveststage) - location of 0 1 secondary color (1 = tip; 2 = center; 3 = base;4 = throughout) Primary flower head (harvest stage) - internal bract 1 2color (1 = whitish-green; 2 = yellow-green; 3 = straw) Primary flowerhead (harvest stage) - bract spines 1 1 (1 = none; 2 = few; 3 = many)Primary flower head (harvest stage) - bract shape 3 3 (1 = round; 2 =oval; 3 = elongated) Primary flower head (harvest stage) - bract tipshape 3 2 (1 = entire; 2 = slightly notched; 3 = deeply notched) Primaryflower head (harvest stage) - bract length (mm) 54.80 57.5 Primaryflower head (harvest stage) -bract width (mm) 30.03 32.55 Primary flowerhead (harvest stage) - peduncle length 16.22 12.89 (cm) Primary flowerhead (harvest stage) - peduncle diameter 30.53 28.29 (mm) Primary flowerhead (harvest stage) - weight per 449.70 430.64 primary head (g) Primaryflower head (harvest stage) - no. of primary 1 1 heads per plantSecondary flower head - weight per secondary head (g) 228.70 239.46Secondary flower head - no. secondary heads per plant 3.8 4.8 Floretcolor 4 4 (1 = white; 2 = pink; 3 = red; 4 = purple; 5 = blue; 6 = otherAchene color 2 2 (1 = monocolor; 2 = bicolor) Achene color pattern n.r.n.r. (1 = solid; 2 = speckling; 3 = striping; 4 = other) Achene primarycolor n.r. n.r. (1 = tan; 2 = brown; 3 = green; 4 = black; 5 = grey)Achene secondary color n.r. n.r. (1 = tan; 2 = brown; 3 = green; 4 =black; 5 = grey) Anthocyanin Leaf Petiole 2 2 1 = Absent; 2 = Noticable;3 = Very Noticable Anthocyanin Leaf Blade 1 1 1 = Absent; 2 = Noticable;3 = Very Noticable Anthocyanin Peduncle 1 1 1 = Absent; 2 = Noticable; 3= Very Noticable Anthocyanin Petal 3 3 1 = Absent; 2 = Noticable; 3 =Very Noticable Anthocyanin Head Bract 2 2 1 = Absent; 2 = Noticable; 3 =Very Noticable Anthocyanin Bract Spine 1 1 1 = Absent; 2 = Noticable; 3= Very Noticable Anthocyanin Leaf Spine 1 1 1 = Absent; 2 = Noticable; 3= Very Noticable Anthocyanin Pappus 2 2 1 = Absent; 2 = Noticable; 3 =Very Noticable Anthocyanin Achene 1 1 1 = Absent; 2 = Noticable; 3 =Very Noticable Anthocyanin Other (specify) n.r. n.r. 1 = Absent; 2 =Noticable; 3 = Very Noticable Disease Reaction - Botrytis Rot (Botrytiscinerea) n.r. n.r. (0 = not tested; 1 = susceptible; 2 = resistant)Disease Reaction - Curly Dwarf Virus n.r. n.r. (0 = not tested; 1 =susceptible; 2 = resistant) Disease Reaction - Black tip Syndrome n.r.n.r. (0 = not tested; 1 = susceptible; 2 = resistant) Disease Reaction -Other       n.r. n.r. (0 = not tested; 1 = susceptible; 2 = resistant)Insect Reaction-Plume Moth (Platyptillia carduidactyla) n.r. n.r. (0 =not tested; 1 = susceptible; 2 = resistant) Insect Reaction - Aphid n.r.n.r. (0 = not tested; 1 = susceptible; 2 = resistant) Insect Reaction -2-Spotted Spider Mite n.r. n.r. (0 = not tested; 1 = susceptible; 2 =resistant) Insect Reaction - Chrysanthemum Leafminer n.r. n.r. (0 = nottested; 1 = susceptible; 2 = resistant) Insect Reaction - Cribate Weeviln.r. n.r. (0 = not tested; 1 = susceptible; 2 = resistant) InsectReaction - Other       n.r. n.r. (0 = not tested; 1 = susceptible; 2 =resistant) These are typical values. Values may vary due to environment.Other values that are substantially equivalent are also within the scopeof the invention. n.r. = not recorded.

1. A seed of artichoke variety NUN 4060 AR, wherein a representativesample of said seed has been deposited under Accession Number NCIMB______.
 2. A plant of artichoke variety NUN 4060 AR, or a part thereof,wherein a representative sample of seed of said variety has beendeposited under Accession Number NCIMB ______.
 3. A head of artichokevariety NUN 4060 AR, or a part thereof, produced from the plant of claim2.
 4. A method of producing an artichoke plant, comprising crossing theplant of claim 2 with a second artichoke plant one or more times, andselecting progeny from said crossing.
 5. A method of producing anartichoke plant, comprising selfing the plant of claim 2 one or moretimes, and selecting progeny from said selfing.
 6. Progeny of artichokevariety NUN 4060 AR obtained by further breeding with said variety. 7.The progeny of claim 6, wherein said progeny have all the physiologicaland morphological characteristics of variety NUN 4060 AR when grownunder the same environmental conditions.
 8. An Essentially DerivedVariety of NUN 4060 AR having one, two or three physiological and/ormorphological characteristics which are different from those of NUN 4060AR and which otherwise has all the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of NUN 4060 AR, wherein a representative sample of seedof variety NUN 4060 AR has been deposited under Accession Number NCIMB______.
 9. A method of producing plants, or a part thereof, of varietyNUN 4060 AR comprising vegetative propagation of variety NUN 4060 AR.10. The method of claim 9, wherein said vegetative propagation comprisesregenerating a whole plant from a part of variety NUN 4060 AR.
 11. Themethod of claim 10, wherein said part is a cutting, a cell culture, atissue culture, a stump, a sucker, a shoot, an offshoot or an ovoli. 12.A vegetative propagated plant of variety NUN 4060 AR, or a part thereof,having all the morphological and physiological characteristics of NUN4060 AR when grown under the same environmental conditions.
 13. Plantparts derived from variety NUN 4060 AR, or from a plant of claim 12,wherein said plant part are harvested flower heads or parts thereof,pollen, cells, leaves or parts thereof, petioles, shoots or partsthereof, stems or parts thereof, roots or parts thereof, cuttings,stumps, offshoots, ovoli, receptacles or parts thereof, bracts or partsthereof, flowers, florets, or flower buds.
 14. A food or feed productcomprising a plant part of claim
 13. 15. The food or feed product ofclaim 14, wherein said plant part is fresh or processed.
 16. Anartichoke plant produced by growing the seed of claim
 1. 17. A method ofproducing an artichoke plant having a desired trait, wherein the methodcomprises transforming the artichoke plant of claim 2 with a transgenethat confers the desired trait, wherein the transformed plant retainsall the phenotypic and morphological characteristics of variety NUN 4060AR and contains the desired trait, a representative sample of seed ofsaid variety NUN 4060 AR having been deposited under Accession NumberNCIMB ______.
 18. An artichoke plant produced by the methods of claims17, wherein the plant comprises the desired trait and all of thephysiological and morphological characteristics of NUN 4060 AR.
 19. Acell or tissue culture produced from a plant of claim
 2. 20. Anartichoke plant regenerated from a cell or tissue culture of claim 19,said plant expressing all the morphological and physiologicalcharacteristics of NU 4060 AR, wherein a representative sample havingbeen deposited under Accession Number NCIMB ______.